2 McKinney ISD Teachers Resign After Controversial Social Media Posts

MCKINNEY (CBSDFW.COM) – Two McKinney ISD middle school teachers stepped down after officials were informed of controversial tweets.

McKinney ISD officials said the two teachers resigned Friday after a parent found anti-LGBTQ and anti-Islamic tweets on their accounts.

“I’m upset because I don’t know if this is going to seep into a classroom,” said one parent.

Some McKinney parents are outraged over what they say they’ve heard about the two Cockrill Middle School teachers’ now-deleted tweets.

Officials said a concerned parent showed Mark Russell and Justin Barton’s posts to the district on January 12.

In the tweets, Barton wrote that Islam is a “Satanic death cult,” while Russell called transgender people “mentally ill.”

During this time, the Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) asked for an investigation.

“I feel and CAIR feels that it’s the duty of organizations such as these to take a stance. This is what America is all about and if we don’t stand up for our rights as basic human beings and American citizens then who will?” said Dr. Samad Khan of CAIR.

LGBT groups also wrote to the district, asking McKinney ISD to provide diversity training to its staff.

“It’s not just having the training… it’s having inclusion and acceptance and we’ve gotten to a place it seems in this country where we have to personally identify with someone to respect them and feel like they have a place, but the fact of the matter of this country and community belongs to all of us. We need to figure out a way to live here together,” said congressional candidate Lorie Burch.

McKinney ISD announced that both teachers chose to resign on January 19.